This invention relates to a vehicle headlight for projecting a light beam, comprising a reflector, a light source, a cover plate, and an ensuing, or serially-arranged, lens. The invention further relates to a process for adjusting a vehicle headlight for projecting a light beam involving a reflector, a light source, an opaque cover plate, and an ensuing lens.
German patent document (DE-37 29 515) discloses a vehicle headlight having a reflector with an optical axis extending in a horizontal direction, a first focal point and a second focal point that is further from the reflector than the first focal point. A light source is placed at the first focal point of the reflector, with the reflector being designed to reflect light rays from the light source so that they converge at the second focal point. A visor or opaque cover plate is placed near the second focal point of the reflector. A focusing lens is placed on a side of the cover plate directed away from the reflector, having a focal point in the vicinity of the second focal point of the reflector. The lens is designed so that it can be moved in a vertical direction between a low beam position and a high beam position.
When a headlight of this type is installed in a vehicle, accurate adjustment of the headlight is required, to prevent blinding of on-coming traffic, for example. In order to achieve a required basic adjustment of a projected light beam, the light beam must be capable of being moved along specific adjustment paths in vertical and horizontal directions. That is, a light beam distribution must be adjustable by adjusting the light beam's vertical and horizontal set angles with respect to a longitudinal axis of the headlight, or with respect to a longitudinal axis of the vehicle corresponding to the longitudinal axis of the headlight. Specifically, positions of individual system components of the headlight must be coordinated so that desired set angles of the light beam can be achieved in both low and high beam settings. This requires a high degree of accuracy and costly adjustment of individual system components of the headlight.
It is an object of this invention to provide an improved headlight of this type that is economical to produce and easy to adjust.